Ever the master of predictable plots, the pornography industry seems to have correctly forecast what would happen after Los Angeles County voters passed the Measure B condom law last November. It warned that porn movie producers would seek to leave the county, and legal and political fights would ensue here and elsewhere. True and true.

Officials in Camarillo, Calif., received so many requests for filming permits that they've imposed a 45-day moratorium on porn production in order to study regulatory options in the Ventura County city, 30 miles west of the adult entertainment industry's San Fernando Valley hub.

At the same time, courtroom action draws nearer on porn producers' lawsuit against Measure B, challenging L.A. County's jurisdiction and raising free-speech issues.

>Meanwhile, the controversy is going statewide. A bill introduced in February would mandate stepped-up enforcement of Measure B-like health laws in porn productions all over California. And the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, the nonprofit that backed Measure B, is urging 85 incorporated cities not automatically covered by that law to adopt it.

All of this portends real economic impact and a long fight stemming from the ballot measure that requires the use of condoms on adult film sets, among other provisions meant to reduce the risk of sexually transmitted disease.

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If the industry's very nature didn't already complicate porn producers' effort to persuade the public they are innocent victims of misguided regulatory efforts, another recent headline raised doubts about their sincerity. Last month, AHF filed with L.A. County health officials the first complaint stemming from Measure B. AHF said it had received an anonymous tip that a company called Immoral Productions had broken the new law.

Even as producers are fighting the law, they must obey it.

But the allegation does not undercut concerns that producers, who believe their consumers prefer condom-free porn, will leave for less restrictive counties or states. Whatever residents and elected officials think of the industry, it is estimated to bring $1 billion and 10,000 jobs to the Los Angeles economy. One of the issues during the Measure B campaign was whether the law really would drive away producers. The early signs are it will.